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baseborn, Ann Scot has a husband serving with Ld Wellington & he had not been in England for fourteen months previous to the birth of the child which is supposed to be the child of the husbands father

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Does that say that he was smothered in a sack containing pollard by two young men. Murder . ?How dreadful,have you been able to find out any more?Gosh there must have been a trial,and what is pollard?I only know the word as being trees being pollarded for specific use. Not exactly coppicing as with hazels but willows are pollarded.Canít imagine what was going on unless a prank gone wrong.You have us all wondering.Thanks for the interesting extracts.ViktoriaPS? after another look it says named not murdered and pertains to the two young men. My mistake. V.

Another unusual annotation found today. Some bizarre circumstances surrounding this man's death...

Some more details about William's death.

Hertford Mercury and Reformer08 May 1852Singular Death By SuffocationA melancholy death of this description occurred last week at Purleigh, to a young man of the name William Carter, 18 years of age, a labourer, in the employ of Mr G. S. Auger, farmer. It appears that the deceased, with two fellow labourers, Charles Ward and William Cable, were engaged in the granary of the employer, when the two men, after some play with the lad, in a joke put him in a sack, which contained about a bushel of pollard, and tied the mouth of it. On releasing him shortly after they found him in a state of insensibility, and, although every exertion for his restoration was made, it was ineffectual. At the inquest the two men were committed for trial on the charge of manslaughter. -- Essex Herald

Essex Standard16 Jul 1852Essex Summer AssizeManslaughter At PurleighCharles Ward and William Cable, labourers, were charged with the manslaughter of William Carter, at Purleigh, by tying him in a sack. Mr Rodwell conducted the prosecution, and Mr T. Chambers appeared for the defence. The prisoners, at the suggestion of the Judge, withdrew their plea of not guilty for on of guilty; and in consideration their having been in prison three months, he only sentenced them to one week's imprisonment.

Essex Standard23 Jul 1852Essex Summer AssizeManslaughter At PurleighCharles Ward, 20, and William Cable, 25, labourers, were indicted for the manslaughter of William Carter, at Purleigh. Mr Rodwell conducted the prosecution; Mr T Chambers defended the prisoners. Mr Rodwell had opened the case for the prosecution, when Mr Chambers intimated that he had no defence to the facts, but he should submit that the prisoners were at the time they tied the unfortunate deceased up in a sack at play with him, and that the melancholy result which had followed could not involve them in any criminal liability. His Honour said he did not see any escape for the prisoners in law from the charge of manslaughter, and, at his suggestion, they withdrew their former plea for one of Guilty. In passing sentence his Lordship told the prisoners he had no doubt they both lamented having been the unintending cause of the death of a fellow subject, and he should have been glad if he could, consistently with his duty, have seen any mode in which they could have been acquitted of this charge; but the law (and very properly) so respected the lives of subjects of this kingdom as to hold every person who had been guilty of destroying the life of a fellow subject, unless under very special circumstances, guilty of felony. He hoped they would, by the quiet demeanour of the rest of their lives, endeavour to atone for what they had done; and, as they had already been in prison three months, perhaps the justice of the case would, under all circumstances, be met by a very lenient sentence, viz., that they be each subjected to a further imprisonment of one week.

Looked it up and it is fine bran,the poor lad would have inhaled it and it would have blocked the very fine alveoli in his lungs.The two pranksters would not have thought about that,the sack would seem pretty empty to them.What a tragedy.Sad but interesting reading.Thanks.Viktoria.

There's a William Cable, who could be one of the accused, living in Mundon (very close to Purleigh) in the 1871 census, he's married with five young children. So hopefully he got his life back together. He could be the same William Cable who was baptised in Purleigh in 1826, born to an unmarried woman in Purleigh Poor House.

Transcribing Essex records for FreeREG.Current parishes - Burnham, Purleigh, Steeple.Get in touch if you have any interest in these places!

Amazing follow up information. What an outcome from what sounds like an innocent work prank. Tying a human up in a bag may have been a harmless prank to a degree. Terrible consequences for all of them, families included.

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